updated 11:15 am EDT, Tue August 16, 2011

EU gets partial lift on Galaxy Tab 10.1 limit

The Dusseldorf court that instituted the EU-wide Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban has partly lifted the preliminary injunction requested by Apple. Officials were concerned that the court lacked the authority to mandate a ban on Samsung's tablet outside of Germany and has frozen the ban beyond the country. A possibility exists that the ban could resume for all of Europe after the August 25 hearing determines the validity of the claims.

No mention has been made of the disputed evidence in that led to the original ban. One image was found to have been stretched to make the Galaxy Tab look similar. It's since come to light, however, that Apple's submission to the court still included actual photos of the iPad and Galaxy Tab and left little doubt for the judge.

Although the EU request restricts Samsung Germany and Samsung Korea separately, German law can enforce the same conditions against divisions even if one isn't a subsidiary of the other.

The move is a brief reprieve for Samsung. Even if it wins a lift on the injunction, it won't be until weeks later that any change can take effect. A court decision in favor of Apple could also both keep the ban going for as long as a lawsuit is ongoing and could reinstate the EU-level ban if given authority.

None of the decisions affect the Netherlands, where Apple will learn on September 15 whether it gets a temporary ban there as well. Apple had singled out the country for an expanded dispute. [via Florian Mueller]

look and feel, not patent

This is where I don't defend Samsung.

There are some rather ridiculous patents that are part of this discussion - I'd like to see those tossed out.
And there is nothing wrong with having a thin tablet - the whole market will go there. Nothing wrong with having a one button tablet - no one company owned the 'two button mouse' from yesteryear - you can't patent the number of buttons.